


Point of Know Return

by cozycatastrophe



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Gen, Gwaine Fest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-09
Updated: 2014-03-09
Packaged: 2018-01-15 04:35:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1291552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cozycatastrophe/pseuds/cozycatastrophe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin has always tried to keep his magic a secret. Fortunately, there have only been a handful of people that discover his true talents. Unfortunately, one of those people turns out to be Gwaine, after the knight witnesses Merlin saving Arthur's neck yet again. Merlin knows that Gwaine would never want to use magic for evil... but that didn't mean that Gwaine probably wasn't going to abuse the power.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Point of Know Return

**Author's Note:**

> This is my mini-bang for Gwaine Fest 2014! I'm so crazy excited for it. And really, the main reason for the note was to thank our wonderful mods as well as my wonderful artist, Kimli. Thank you so much for an amazing fest!

“What was that?” Gwaine hissed, suddenly invading Merlin’s personal space as he angled his horse to sidle right next to Merlin’s, nearly knocking Merlin and his horse off of the path that they were traveling through the woods.

Merlin blinked, stomach sinking as he realized what he had been caught doing. “What? What are you…” He stammered, attempting to keep his cool, as well as trying to keep up the staring contest that Gwaine had suddenly forced him into playing. He trusted his horse to follow the rest of the knights and their steeds, all of which were ultimately following Arthur who was at the lead and attempting to calm his own horse who had just narrowly avoided being knocked in the head by a falling tree branch.

“That! That thing I just saw!” There was a waft of old mead on Gwaine’s breath that nearly knocked Merlin off of his horse, but Merlin forced himself to stay put as Gwaine continued to stare into his eyes, searching for something.

Great. Wonderful. 

“What are you talking about, Gwaine?” Merlin questioned, narrowing his eyes. Surely Gwaine hadn’t seen the flash of gold in Merlin’s eyes only moments before, when he caught sight of the large tree branch tumbling towards the king. It had been a stupid move, but it wasn’t like Merlin could let Arthur get clocked in the head by something as stupid as a falling branch!

Of course Gwaine would see something as miniscule as that action, though. 

“I saw you!” Gwaine whispered, although Merlin wasn’t entirely convinced that Gwaine was completely sober and realizing that the whispering wasn’t doing much. Leon had turned in his saddle and shot the two a questioning look before turning back around to watch where they were heading.

“Gwaine, how much have you had to drink today?” Merlin questioned, trying to brush it off. And on any other day, at any other time, Merlin probably would have been able to get away with it. It was more common than not that Gwaine was in the pub when they weren’t running around Camelot performing official business.

But even Gwaine, in his normally somewhat permanently tipsy state, knew that the question was a bit absurd. “It’s barely even noon, Merlin! I haven’t had a drop of anything.” He continued to lean forward, forcing Merlin to lean away from him. Merlin had to press his knees a bit more into the ribs of his horse to keep his balance and make sure he didn’t topple right off. “I know exactly what I saw!”

“You’re insane. Or still recovering from last night.” Merlin shook his head and turned to face forward, righting himself as he did so and forcing Gwaine to revert back to his own sitting position.

Gwaine snorted. “Fine. You don’t want to be honest with me…” He situated himself better in his saddle, sitting up a bit straighter as he glanced around. Merlin wasn’t sure what he was looking for as Gwaine’s head whipped back and forth, until his search stopped and his eyes were focused straight ahead for a moment before sliding to Merlin. That impish smile Gwaine got when he knew he had the upper hand, whether in cards or in the chase of some bar maid, made an appearance on his handsome face. “Maybe I’ll just ask Arthur. Surely he had to notice how the branch missed him. Arthur! My liege!”

Merlin’s heart thudded in his chest and he couldn’t stop himself as he leaned across the short distance between their horses and whacked Gwaine on the shoulder with an open palm. “SHUT UP!” Merlin hissed through clenched teeth. Gwaine jumped, although that stupid smile was still there.

Arthur turned around in his saddle, eyebrow arched at his servant and the knight. “Gwaine?”

Gwaine glanced at Merlin, who couldn’t control his breathing nearly as well as he thought he could. His heart was hammering in his chest at the idea of Gwaine questioning what had happened and bringing Arthur into it. Despite Uther’s death, magic was still taboo and Merlin wasn’t ready for Arthur to know.

Although the idea of someone other than Gaius knowing sounded nice. Lancelot had been a great ally when it came to all magical things and Merlin missed the knight daily.

But Gwaine knowing was probably a poor decision.

However, Merlin knew he had to handle this with a bit more tact. Gwaine asking Arthur how he had managed to dodge the tree limb and Arthur suddenly questioning what he was normally blind to was not going to end well. It would mean that Merlin would be under scrutiny any time something odd like that happened and, while it would only be Gwaine watching him, eventually he would be caught by the clueless knight anyway.

So he sighed and dropped his head for a moment before looking at Gwaine, forcing his muscles to relax in his entire body.

“Later. When we get back to Camelot, we can talk. Tonight, alright? Meet me at the tavern after sundown,” He instructed quickly, under his breath while mentally praying that Arthur wouldn’t be suspicious of the odd behavior and the quiet conversation going on. Merlin knew he was going to have to explain it all, and explain to Gwaine why Arthur couldn’t know.

Seconds passed and Merlin heard Arthur call Gwaine’s name once more, and then Merlin’s own. Finally, after Merlin thought Arthur was going to stop the caravan and come back to talk to the both of them, Gwaine nodded and looked back at their leader.

“Sorry, my lord. Just wanted to know if your horse was alright and calmed,” Gwaine replied with a calm smile, a satisfied grin that meant he had gotten his way. Merlin had seen that same smirk when Gwaine had managed to convince a bar maid to sit in his lap and pour him another drink on the house.

Merlin had gotten scammed.

Arthur frowned at his knight, but nodded. “He’s tame… although not much longer if you keep shouting at me.” With that, their king turned around and faced front.

Merlin let out a sigh and looked to Gwaine, who had the largest grin on his face.

This was not going to be good. Merlin knew he was going to regret the whole thing.

***

“Merlin! Over here!” Gwaine shouted, waving his arm and ultimately sloshing his ale over the rim of his mug and down the sleeve of his tunic. The knight didn’t seem to notice and only cared that Merlin made his way through the crowded tavern to the back corner table that Gwaine had reserved for the two of them. There was already a mug of ale waiting for Merlin when the boy approached.

Merlin felt like he was going to vomit.

He had never told anyone of his magic this way. His mother knew about it from birth, Gaius hadn’t been surprised and had actually assumed it. Even Lancelot had no problem with it after the initial surprise. Merlin never had to sit someone down and explain it like a parent explained some wonder of the universe like death or life to their child.

But that was kind of how it was working.

Merlin settled in the chair across from Gwaine, but didn’t take on the comfortable slouch that the knight had. Gwaine pushed the reserved tankard towards Merlin and took a sip from his own, the grin on his face never wavering.

“So, Merlin, let’s get to talking, shall we?”

Merlin sighed, wrapping his fingers around the worn mug, letting his calloused thumbs brush over the stone handle as he thought about how he was going to start the conversation at hand.

Gwaine, however, was not as tactful.

“So that tree branch… it’s happened before, right? You doing something odd to save one of us… I always thought it was just my imagination or the alcohol or even a flash of sun or something like that,” Gwaine spoke, pointing a finger at Merlin as he sat forward in his chair. “It was always so hectic in those little skirmishes, I just thought Arthur was unnaturally lucky or something. But now I see how it is…”

Merlin nodded slowly, not sure how he’d be able to keep Gwaine from telling that secret. Although, to be fair, he kept his fair share of Gwaine’s secrets that allowed the man to be free from the restraints of the stocks.

“You’re Arthur’s little magical imp!” Gwaine crowed, the statement obviously fueled and made louder by the alcohol already in the man’s system.

Merlin had been taking a sip of his ale and nearly choked on the stuff. He spit what was left in his mouth back into the mug and waved a hand to shush the tipsy Gwaine.

“Would you keep it down?!” He spat, glaring at his friend who looked extremely pleased at himself for figuring it all out. Even though he definitely hadn’t. Merlin shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. “No… it’s not like that. But yes, I have magic.”

The statement alone was so simple, and for some reason, Merlin’s queasy stomach settled as the words hung in the air between him and Gwaine. The knight blinked at him, almost like Merlin had caught him off guard with the truth. But Merlin felt a bit better about telling someone his secret. He knew he was still in deep trouble that someone else knew, and if Gaius found out, he’d been even deeper in trouble. But the fact that Gwaine now knew the truth… it felt a little better.

Gwaine leaned forward even further, his ass nearly out of his chair. “So is that why you’re always with us even though you’re not a knight? Does Arthur keep you as a secret magical weapon or something?”

Merlin shook his head. A sharp laugh escaped his lips as he took a sip of his ale. Already, he was feeling better and couldn’t help laughing slightly at Gwaine’s theories. “No… Arthur doesn’t know.” The smirk faded on Merlin’s face, just as quickly as it had shown up. His face grew serious as he put his mug down and stared into Gwaine’s eyes.

“And he can’t know. Do you understand, Gwaine? You can’t tell _anyone_. Especially Arthur.” It wasn’t often that Merlin had a serious conversation with Gwaine, or used a serious tone. Gwaine was the fun knight in the group that truly knew how to horse around and yet still get the job done. But this was something honestly serious. Life or death. Merlin couldn’t guarantee that Arthur wouldn’t burn him at the stake like Uther had done to the other magic users in the past. Just because he was Arthur’s friend, that didn’t grant him immunity from punishment, whether it was the flames or banishment from Camelot.

Gwaine blinked, the gravity of the situation and the knowledge he had just gained creeping into his brain.

“So no one knows?” He asked, slowly, after a moment. “Not even Gwen?” The thought seemed to stun the knight, and Merlin knew why. Gwen was one of Merlin’s best friends, had been since the day he had arrived in Camelot and had picked a fight with Arthur in the market. If anyone was to know, it should have been Gwen, but first she was just an innocent bystander, then she was Morgana’s best friend, and then she was Arthur’s queen.

“It’s not fair to make her keep a secret like this from Arthur, so no. Gaius is the only one who knows.” Merlin paused, not sure about his words, but decided to forge ahead anyway. “Lancelot knew… figured it out… before… you know…” He waved his hand, inferring that Gwaine could finish the sentence.

Gwaine frowned and then nodded, remembering their fallen friend as his eyes drifted to the worn table beneath his elbows. It was a shame. The two of them were polar opposites. Lancelot was a peasant, born with the need to become a knight. Gwaine was born a noble, growing up with the need to become a simple peasant. Both had become two of Arthur’s most trusted men. Lancelot had fallen far too soon.

“It’s a lot of information, Gwaine… and if you just want to forget about the whole thing… it’s a lot of responsibility, right?” Merlin spoke after a moment of silence had fallen between them. It hadn’t been his intention to scare the man, but the information had seemed to shock the knight into a bit of uncharacteristic silence. Merlin hoped that Gwaine would just drink and forget the whole thing.

But Merlin’s luck was never that good.

Gwaine looked up from the table, that damn grin on his face.

“Of course… but what’s a little risk for the amount of fun we’re going to have with it?”

Dammit. Merlin knew he was going to regret not slipping a memory adjustment potion in Gwaine’s mug.

***

As he emerged from the castle and into the sun, Merlin prayed that he wouldn’t have to see Gwaine today. The sun was bright in the sky, forcing Merlin’s head to pound and roar. He squinted his eyes and pressed a hand to his forehead to block the light. The sorcerer also prayed, as he trotted down the stairs that led to the main courtyard, that Gwaine was currently sleeping off his drunken night in bed and wouldn’t remember the conversation they had in the pub last night.

Merlin had surely tried to make sure that his wish would come true.

After Gwaine’s impish implication that he was going to have fun with Merlin’s magical abilities, Gwaine had ordered another round of drinks for the two of them. And then another, and another. Merlin had attempted to keep up, but he definitely tried to slow down after a mug or two, and made sure to keep the mugs lined up in front of Gwaine. It had only occurred to Merlin after a mug or two that perhaps he could get Gwaine drunk enough that the knight would forget their entire conversation. So he had pulled money out of his own pocket and tried to keep Gwaine as full of ale as he could throughout the night, all the while attempting to keep the conversation volume at a minimum in fear that Gwaine would start shouting.

He had, at one point, tried to get Merlin to do a magic trick in the middle of the damned pub.

Luckily, Merlin had managed to shut him up and get a drunken promise out of the knight to keep it down, and if he did, he would get more alcohol. He had to pour Gwaine into bed, but Merlin hoped beyond hope that he wouldn’t have to find a memory spell to use on Gwaine.

He wasn’t a big fan of having to use magic on his friends.

It would have been the easiest solution, instead of wasting his money and hoping that Gwaine would drunkenly forget the whole thing. A memory spell, however, was tricky and Merlin could have just as easily erased Gwaine’s entire history. It was a dangerous thing, tinkering with someone’s brain, and Merlin just hoped that the mead had done what it was supposed to do.

It was a hope that wouldn’t be fulfilled, of course, considering Merlin’s luck.

 “Merlin! My good man!”

Merlin groaned, his head dropping so his chin was on his chest. He stopped in the middle of the courtyard, hearing Gwaine’s footsteps echoes on the stone that surrounded them. There weren’t many people populating the courtyard, as most were in the stables or working in the castle proper. He watched Gwaine’s shadow grow closer and then overtake his own as the knight came up behind him and slapped a hand on Merlin’s shoulder.

“How are you this wonderful morning?” Gwaine sounded far too cheery for a man who should have been sleeping through the day. Merlin groaned at the weight on his shoulder and attempted to shrug it off, but Gwaine’s palm was glued to the spot, refusing to move.

“A little hazy… obviously you’ve recovered,” Merlin replied, finding it difficult to drudge up any sort of excitement that equaled Gwaine’s upbeat attitude.

Gwaine grinned wickedly, flipping his head back to brush the hair out of his dark eyes. He squeezed Merlin’s shoulder and nodded.

“Of course! It’s our first day together with the truth, and I’m so excited to see what we can do with that great power of yours!”

The words, although not sinister when they came from Gwaine, forced Merlin’s head to swim and his stomach to twist. He knew that the information Gwaine had could be bad in anyone else’s mind. Gwaine was rather harmless, although his words had very “take over the world” type implications, and he wouldn’t want to do anything truly heinous with Merlin’s magic.

At least, Merlin hoped not.

“Listen, Gwaine,” Merlin dropped the volume of his voice as he continued to walk out of the quiet courtyard. Gwaine pulled his hand away from Merlin’s shoulder and followed. “I don’t know what you think is going to happen today… but it’s definitely not, alright? I don’t use my… _talent_ unless I absolutely need to.”

And if Gaius had overheard their conversation, he would have probably fallen over because he’d be laughing far too hard to keep standing. The old man had caught Merlin using his magic inside their quarters for everything between cleaning his room to doing the dishes and other chores that Gaius required of him. Merlin was careful not to use his magic to do a lot of the chores outside of the rooms he shared with Gaius, but it was a hard habit to break sometimes, especially for the things he didn’t want to do, like cleaning Arthur’s armor or mucking out the horse stables.

“Why? Is there a rule against using it for personal gain?” Gwaine asked, his head tilting. The smile flickered slightly, as if he was actually concerned about the consequences for the mishandling of magic.

“Well… I…”

“See? I just want to see what you can do, Merlin! Little stuff. Nothing harmful or illegal. Cross my heart.” The knight replied, physically dragging his index finger in an x across his chest, proving that he was quite serious on his promise.

Merlin groaned at the nearly angelic look on Gwaine’s face as the man batted his eyelashes at him. Was this how he managed to get Gwen to tolerate him? He needed to desperately find a way to clean Gwaine’s memory, but using a spell like that on his friend made his stomach lurch.

Could he really put a memory charm on Gwaine?

“Or what? You won’t tell anyone. Even you aren’t that stupid to realize what kind of consequence that would bring if you did.” Merlin’s voice had grown serious, just as it had when he had warned Gwaine that he couldn’t tell Arthur. “So what exactly is making me entertain you?”

Merlin didn’t mean to sound as venomous as he did, but he couldn’t control his tone. Games that threatened his well-being and his relationships were not funny and he was beginning to get upset.

At the harsh tone, however, the easygoing knight stepped slightly away from Merlin and his eyebrows shot up near his hairline. The smirk faltered and Merlin felt bad for the snarky words that had come from his lips. It wasn’t fair to condemn Gwaine, because there was no way the man had a malicious bone in his body.

But Gwaine was never one to be bothered for long.

The smile returned and Gwaine shifted his shoulders, brushing the seriousness of the situation off before falling back into step with Merlin as they moved into the marketplace and towards the stables, for really no reason other than out of pure habit. He shrugged simply.

“No reason. Other than I’m sure, with the tone you have every time we talk about it… you take it a lot more seriously than you should sometimes. Maybe you need to lighten up a bit. And maybe I can show you how.”

Merlin paused for a beat, fingers pulling at a loose string at the cuff of his sleeve. Finally, he sighed.

“Fine. But I have to get back in time to clean Arthur’s new sword, got it?” Merlin pointed a finger at Gwaine, who merely grinned back.

Merlin had a feeling he wasn’t going to be able to do any of his chores today.

***

“Gwaine, this wasn’t exactly what I thought you meant when you said you were going to show me how to lighten up,” Merlin hissed as the shifted in the loft of the stables. Microscopic debris from the hay around them floated through the shafts of sun and made Merlin want to sneeze. He looked at Gwaine, who shrugged again.

It was a common reaction, it seemed.

“Leon’s an easy target. He won’t realize what’s going on. And then we can see what else we can do. C’mon, just like we talked about, alright?” Gwaine whispered back, letting his eyes drop away from Merlin and onto Leon who was unwittingly standing beneath them, attempting to take care of and dress the horses in the stables.

Normally it was the pages and other servant’s jobs to take care of the horses. Leon, however, liked to personally brush down, water and feed the horses that carried the knights around Camelot. It was unusual, of course, but they had all gotten used to seeing Leon in the stables during the knight’s spare time. Right now, he was repairing a saddle and taking care of Percy’s horse, a stallion that was the largest of the group, the only animal that could handle Percy’s weight.

Merlin sighed.

It was harmless, he knew, playing a prank on Leon. The man could sometimes be a stuffed shirt and while some people could get a smile out of him, he was always the brunt of pranks, if only to get him to loosen up. It wasn’t as if Merlin was attempting to harm the man or steal anything from him.

Just get a bit of a chuckle.

An elbow poked Merlin in the side and the sorcerer jumped, glaring at Gwaine who gestured him to get on with it before settling in to witness the greatness. Merlin grimaced and then glanced down, looking at all of the tools that surrounded Leon as he worked on his personal chores.

“Alright…” Merlin muttered. He focused on the hammer that Leon had just put down and had been using throughout the time that they had been spying on him. He whispered something soft, hopeful that Leon wouldn’t hear him. A gasp slipped through the silence, coming from Gwaine as the hammer floated quietly up from the workbench and quickly moved down to the opposite end of where it was settled originally.

Leon turned, just as the hammer landed. Merlin could see the frown from the loft as Leon’s hand touched the worn wood of the table instead of the handle of the hammer. The knight spun on his heel, searching for the tool before finding it at the opposite end.

“Odd…” He grumbled, snatching up the hammer and using it for a moment before putting it back down in its original spot. Gwaine snickered next to Merlin as the hammer levitated once more and floated down the table, landing again just as Leon turned to use it. “What the…”

Gwaine had to slap a hand over his mouth, stifling laughter at Leon’s response. Merlin couldn’t help the smirk that lingered on his lips at the reaction and the harmless prank. He wasn’t supposed to use his magic for anything other than his destiny.

But this was rather fun.

Leon snatched up the hammer and continued its use, although after he was finished, it was put down directly in his line of sight. Gwaine gave a soft groan at the distinct finish that Leon was putting to their fun. Even when he didn’t mean it, he ruined their shenanigans.

Merlin shrugged and looked at Gwaine. Surely the knight could be finished with fooling around with magic, no matter how fun it actually was.

“Are you happy now?” He hissed, knowing that they were playing with fire. Messing with Leon was one thing, once or twice with harmless pranks. But the knight wasn’t a complete idiot and was going to notice something was amiss eventually. And while Merlin was pretty sure that Leon, a man who didn’t see someone’s class, but their honor as a judging point, wouldn’t care about Melrin’s magic, he was also quite close with Arthur. And Arthur, no matter how much he liked Merlin, hated magic that much more after Uther’s death.

Leon was utterly devoted to Arthur, and Merlin knew that Leon could never keep a secret like that from their king.

However, Gwaine didn’t seem to think of the consequences. He shook his head.

“I haven’t even begun yet, mate!”

***

“Really, you want me to prank _him_?! I thought you were bloody kidding!” Merlin hissed, realizing where they were headed only moments before Gwaine led him around the backside of a large weapons rack. “Out of all the people in the kingdom…”

“I would have said Uther… but… well…” Gwaine shrugged as he peeked around a large axe head. Merlin followed his line of sight and his eyes fell on their target.

“You’ve suggested some stupid things, Gwaine, but this has to be one of the dumbest. The one person who could easily send me to be burned at the stake and you want me to play a prank on him?!” It was difficult for Merlin to keep his panicked voice down to a whisper, but he tried. Getting Arthur’s attention wasn’t going to help much anyway, especially since Merlin was going to get in trouble regardless of if it concerned magic or not. He was spending the day goofing around with Gwaine instead of doing his chores for Arthur, after all.

“Arthur would never do that, Merlin. He’s too fond of you.” That statement was coupled with an odd sort of look from Gwaine that Merlin wasn’t quite able to decipher before Gwaine slapped a hand on his shoulder. “Arthur’s got that pretty new sword, right?” He pointed at the king, who was clad in his sparring armor and warming up with a basic practice sword against a wooden dummy. The sword in question was lying gleaming on a nearby table, surrounded by other weapons that made appearances in the king’s daily training exercises.

Merlin groaned. “Oh no. No way.”

“C’mon, Merlin! Haven’t you ever wanted to just get one good prank in on Arthur using your magic?” Gwaine waggled his eyebrows, and Merlin knew the man was trying to goad him into doing something absolutely stupid.

But he couldn’t help thinking of Arthur’s frustrated face as a prank immediately began forming in his head.

“Fine. But this one is my idea, got it?”

If Merlin was going to do this, it was going to be in a way that made sure that he didn’t inadvertently reveal his magic to Arthur and get himself thrown in the dungeon.

Gwaine titled his head, a confused puppy in the face of Merlin’s sudden take charge attitude.

“Just go up and admire his new sword, okay? I’ll handle the rest. Play along.” Merlin pushed at Gwaine, shoving the man out of their hiding spot and towards Arthur. Gwaine chuckled and shrugged before sauntering towards their king.

“Arthur! My liege!” Gwaine kept his voice loud enough to capture Arthur’s attention as well as allow Merlin to hear what was going on. Arthur turned away from the dummy he had been fighting, greeting Gwaine with a similarly enthusiastic return. “I heard you received a new addition to your armory. Perhaps you could demonstrate it for me?”

Arthur grinned and Merlin knew this was far too easy. Their liege, as wonderful a leader as he was, had almost a larger ego than Gwaine and wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to show off in front of his knights. The king dropped his practice sword and swaggered over to the table, reaching out for his new toy.

Before his fingers wrapped around the hilt, however, Merlin whispered under his breath a simple spell. His heart banged around in his chest as he watched Arthur grasp the sword, moving to raise it up over his head…

And then nearly drop it, barely getting the weapon off of the table top. Merlin heard Gwaine snort and watched as the knight tried to contain himself and the guffaw that wanted to explode from his lips.

Arthur’s frown was visible even from the distance that Merlin was at. He tried to lift the sword again, but the sheer weight that Merlin had added to the weapon was far too much, even for the strong king.

“I… just need to get used to the new balance of this one. I have yet to actually pick it up,” Arthur stuttered, trying to contain his pride. Gwaine nodded knowingly, as if he wasn’t about to completely burst into a fit of full body laughter. Merlin grinned widely and tried his hardest to keep his laughter quiet so that Arthur wouldn’t find him behind the rack of weapons.

Arthur attempted again, despite his obvious embarrassment, and the sword barely lifted from the wood table before clanging back down. He looked around furtively, surely hoping that no one else but Gwaine had seen. Merlin watched as the king steeled himself up for one last try and, with both hands and a bit of a groan, pried the sword off of the table and up into the air.

He let out a triumphant laugh, his pride coming back. It lasted only for a moment, however, as the weight overcame him and the sword came crashing down to the grass beneath him, slicing through the air and nearly catching Gwaine in the process. The knight leaped back, still attempting to keep his calm in the face of Arthur’s flabbergasted embarrassment.

Arthur brushed his hands off on his tunic, shaking his head. “The damn thing isn’t weight right, that’s the problem!”

“Surely, sire? Let me see.” Gwaine reached down for the sword, but not before glancing over at his partner in crime. Merlin whispered another spell just as Gwaine’s fingers enclosed the hilt of the sword. Gwaine swept the sword up off of the ground with no problem at all, much to Arthur’s surprise and outrage. “Odd… seems weighted fine to me!” Gwaine replied, holding the sword with one hand at full arm’s length, inspecting the weapon as if he were truly testing it.

“I… it must be faulty!” Arthur stammered, shaking his head as he tried to keep his composure and pride intact. “Forget it. I’m done for the day anyway.” He turned on his heel and stormed off, still shaking his head.

Gwaine dropped the sword back down onto the table, finally letting out the laughter he had been holding in the entire time. He stumbled back to Merlin, who couldn’t help the snickering that came over him as well.

“Alright,” Merlin said, “Perhaps this wasn’t so bad.”

***

“Okay, Gwaine… messing with Leon and Arthur is one thing. But harassing Gwen? We’re going to get caught!” Merlin had to hurry to catch up with the excited knight. Gwaine’s long legs were leading the two of them back into the castle proper and toward the part of the castle where Gwen could traditionally be found. He hadn’t told Merlin his entire plan, just that it involved their queen.

No good.

Gwen was smart and most certainly more observant that many of the other people that Gwaine could have chosen to bother. She’d notice something moving in her quarters, whether it was her hairbrush or one of her mapping instruments.

Gwaine waved away Merlin’s worry as they both jogged up the large staircase that led further into the castle. Their elation from pranking Arthur was beginning to wear off, especially with the idea of pulling something over on Gwen.

“Relax, Merlin. This time isn’t going to be a prank, I promise.”

It was absurd that Gwaine had something planned for Merlin’s magic that Merlin had no idea about. There was no way Gwaine was going to plan anything that would hurt Gwen, of course, but Merlin had to be wary.

The two men approached the queen’s quarters, their footsteps going quiet at Gwaine’s signal. The great oak door that led into the room was cracked open, welcoming visitors. Gwaine crept forward and peeked around the door frame. Merlin’s breath hitched in his throat, expecting a cry from Gwen to tell Gwaine to stop being so utterly creepy. But instead, Gwaine stood up after a moment and grinned at Merlin.

“In you go, mate,” He swept a hand to the open doorway, ushering Merlin inside before closing the door behind them.

“What are we doing, Gwaine? Gwen’s going to be back any minute, and even if she doesn’t catch us using magic, she’s going to wonder why we’re in her room!” Merlin’s voice raised an octave as he spun around, showing Gwaine where they obviously were as if the knight hadn’t realized that in the first place.

“I was thinking,” Gwaine started, heading further into the room.

“Well, I hope you didn’t hurt yourself.”

Gwaine shot Merlin a deadpan look, although it was coupled with a smirk. “You take your magic so seriously. Earlier today, even, with all that blackmail talk. Your magic doesn’t always need to be so serious.”

“Right, you already showed me that by having me play pranks on Leon. Which we could do without magic, I’ll remind you,” Merlin scolded, crossing his arms over his chest.

A bark of laughter came from the knight, who nodded but continued anyway. “You can use your magic for good outside of whatever else is going on in your life that is so serious, Merlin. Like to do good deeds.”

“Go, go, go!” Gwaine hissed, pushing Merlin out of the room and around the nearest corner as they heard Gwen’s footsteps echoing down the corridor. Her voice followed the taps of the heels of her shoes as she instructed one of her handmaids to fetch something or other. The two men skidded around the corner, the marble of the castle cold up against their backs.

Merlin heard the groan of the oak door opening further and suddenly there was a gasp that greeted his ears. He turned to see a grin spread across Gwaine’s face before slowly peeking around the corner to watch the aftermath of their work unfold.

Gwen emerged from her room holding a bouquet of daisies and a scrawled letter. A wide smile graced her lips as she showed the gifts to her aid. The girl squealed and immediately dashed inside. Merlin couldn’t help leaning out a bit more, catching sight of his work.

Inside Gwen’s chamber were dozens of daisies, all scattered about. Some in bouquets, some gracing the floor and her desk. The aroma of daisies was already wafting out into the hallway as Gwen stood there, reading the note in her hands.

It had all been Gwaine’s idea, the daisies and the note. The whole thing had been a bit vague as Gwaine sauntered about the room, waving his arms in the general direction of where he wanted the flowers to be, and in what form. Conjuring something like that wasn’t overly difficult, but the amount of flowers that Gwaine wanted was a bit intimidating for Merlin. And what if Gwen walked in during the middle of it all?

Those had been excuses Merlin tried to give, but Gwaine wasn’t having any of it. And eventually, he managed to wear Merlin down enough that the sorcerer began making flowers appear. Whether or not it was pulling those flowers from some poor woman’s garden, Merlin wasn’t sure. Conjuring had always been a vague sort of magic for him, as it wasn’t used often. Sure, moving things from one place to another was common, as was sending things away or making objects fly through the air. It was a bit of an effort, but it all worked.

However, Gwaine wasn’t entirely happy until Merlin had coated just about every surface with flowers and conceded to forging a note for Gwen in Arthur’s messy scrawl. That wasn’t difficult, however, considering Merlin had watched Arthur write so many different documents, and had, by now managed to learn how to forge the king’s signature. When Arthur had found out about Merlin’s particular skill, he hadn’t gotten angry, but merely had plopped down a stack of decrees that need to be signed and told Merlin to get on it before sauntering away to do something much more enjoyable.

The note had been one professing and confirming his love for Gwen and some other sappy things that seemed to work. Merlin watched his friend as she continued to reread the note, only stopping when she heard footsteps.

Arthur’s footsteps. The king, still disgruntled from his encounter with Gwaine earlier in the day, was heading right this way. Surely he was going to see what was going on, and surely he was going to notice Merlin. For some reason, Arthur always knew when Merlin was around. Merlin’s eyes immediately widened and he looked up at Gwaine in panic. But before he could scramble away, Gwen shouted.

“Oh, Arthur!” She cried, sprinting towards her husband and throwing herself in his arms. “You shouldn’t have. They’re lovely! Where did you manage to get them all?”

Arthur’s mouth opened and closed like a fish trying to breathe on land. Daisy petals floated down in front of his nose from the bouquet that was pressed up against the back of his head. Merlin watched as the wheels began to turn in his liege’s mind and flabbergasted Arthur suddenly became suave, debonair Arthur.

“A man’s got to have his secrets, of course! I’m glad you like them,” Arthur replied, hugging Gwen back, all while trying to peer over her shoulder at the room behind her.

Merlin felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to catch sight of Gwaine jerking his thumb in the direction behind him and away from the action.

“See, Merlin? You can do simple things too,” Gwaine lectured as he led Merlin away from the happy couple. Merlin couldn’t help the smirk on his face. “It doesn’t all have to be about destiny and whatnot.”

“Are you finished, then? Can I go back to doing the chores I’ve been neglecting in order to fulfill whatever lessons you had for me? Because while this is nice, it needs to end.” Merlin couldn’t deny that Gwaine’s lessons were better than some of the lessons of consequence that Gaius lectured him with. It also felt wonderful to make one of his best friends happy with a simple gesture.

But the day was going to have to end. And Merlin knew he was going to have to be the one to put an end to it.

Unfortunately, that was not going to happen.

Gwaine threw his head back and a laugh bubbled up his throat and exploded from his lips. He clapped a hand on Merlin’s shoulder before heading deeper in to the castle, as if he hadn’t even heard Merlin’s demand that their fun end.

***

“See! It wasn’t that bad of a day, was it, Merlin?” Gwaine crowed, taking another slug of his mead. Merlin shook his head and sighed as he settled down at the same table they had made their original agreement at barely a day before.

After leaving Gwen’s room, the rest of the day had been filled with pranking the other knights, spooking Camelot’s children into fits of giggles, and getting Gwaine the occasional free bit of food nicked from the closest oven. Merlin had expected to see Gaius or Arthur, but apparently one was busy with other duties and the other was probably busy with Gwen and all those flowers.

“Is it over, Gwaine? I don’t know if I can do more of this kind of stuff, at least not all the time.”

It wasn’t even the risk of getting caught anymore, at least not entirely. Merlin settled in his chair, feeling his muscles trying to relax as he slunk down in the seat, stretching his legs out in front of him. He was drained. The magic that he had used hadn’t been as nearly as intense as anything in any battle, but a whole day had wiped him of most of his energy.

He wasn’t going to be able to take doing this on a daily basis.

Gwaine gave him a steely look over his mug before leaning back. “Nah, mate. Not as long as you remember to lighten up every once in a while.”

“And my secret?” Merlin questioned, as Gwaine flagged down another round even though their current tankards weren’t quite close to empty, at least Merlin’s wasn’t.

“Will be kept, Merlin. Knight’s honor.” Gwaine crossed his heart with his free hand.

“Too bad you never really wanted to be a knight,” Merlin replied, pointing a finger at Gwaine.

Gwaine shrugged. “As long as you use your talents to save my arse once in a while, I won’t say a word.”

“Deal.” Merlin grinned as he brought his mug up to his lips. Unfortunately, the alcohol didn’t make it to his mouth and instead sloshed down the front of his shirt as his chair was shoved forward. He let out a cry and immediately jumped to his feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Gwaine mirroring him. Merlin turned, just in time to be shoved backwards, nearly toppling over the table he had been sitting at.

“Ay, watch it you lug!” Gwaine shouted, catching Merlin as he moved around the table.

 Merlin felt Gwaine’s strong hands steady him and finally got his feet rooted to the floorboards in time to see the offending force that had shoved him.

A mountain of flesh and sweat loomed before him. Beady eyes peeked out from beneath a pronounced forehead and a snarl slashed across the craggy face the man possessed. He was clearly drunk, Merlin observed, as he couldn’t stay standing without leaning a bit from one side to the other.

“You… you watch it!” The lumbering man slurred.

This was not good.

“I didn’t do anything, you troll,” Merlin snapped, realizing only a moment too late that the man could probably break him in half without much of an effort, even in his drunk state. But Merlin couldn’t help it, even as he swallowed a nervous knot in his throat.

“Alright, boys.” Gwaine said, coming around to Merlin’s side and dropping a long arm around the sorcerer’s shoulders. Even Gwaine was feeling a bit heavy and Merlin realized that the knight was doing a bit of leaning as well. “There’s no reason to be fighting! Let’s just share a drink and be merry, eh?” The knight flashed what should have been a winning smile with anyone else. But the mountain wasn’t having any of it. The man rumbled a growl and dropped his tankard, letting it bounce and splash ale on their feet. He took an unsteady step forward and swung a ham sized fist at Gwaine and Merlin.

Merlin must have been sober than he realized, as he was able to pull Gwaine down just in time for the fist to whiff over their heads. Gwaine barked in laughter at the man as they both stood up. Their opponent curled his lip and snarled again and Merlin realized they weren’t going to be nearly as lucky a second time as the giant mass of muscle lumbered into them, knocking the both of them into their table and sending everything flying.

And then it became chaos.

Shouting erupted around the pub and Merlin felt ale soak through his pants as mugs were dropped and thrown. But that wasn’t his first concern as he could barely breathe with the giant laying on top of him. Gwaine wheezed next to him, also crushed between the buffoon and their table. Merlin shoved feebly at the body on top of them and realized they were going to need a bit of magical help.

He whispered under his breath, temporarily making the man feather light. Gwaine groaned with the effort still, but managed to roll the drunk man off of both of them. The knight gave Merlin a cheeky grin as their opponent dropped to the pub floor.

“See, Merlin? Not so--”

“Look out!” Merlin cried, as he caught sight of a soaring chair. He was just fast enough to put his hand up and whisper another spell, shattering the chair before it nailed Gwaine in the back of the skull. Gwaine ducked in reflex, but stood as soon as the splinters rained down on him. A surprised and gracious smile creased across his features.

“I definitely have to keep you around, Merlin!”

Merlin chuckled lightly, but the chuckle died in his throat as he glanced over Gwaine’s shoulder and caught sight of a wide eyed tavern waitress. She was pointing at him, hand shaking with the effort. Her mouth hung open in shock.

“Magic!”

Oh no.

“He used magic! I saw it! Sorcerer! He’s a sorcerer!” She screeched, causing the entire pub to collide into silence. Fists were raised over faces, but paused mid swing. All fighting stopped and numerous pairs of eyes followed the pointing finger, directed straight at Merlin.

He was frozen. There was no way that the woman was pointing at him. There was no way that anyone could have seen him do magic, nor would they believe anyone who had. Right?

Of course not.

“Magic user!” A bearded man cried, bolting around a few fallen chairs before grabbing Merlin around the shoulders and pulling him into a death grip to hold him still. The movement jolted Merlin away and he immediately began struggling to get free.

“What are you talking about?! I’m not… that wasn’t…”

“Hey! Leave him alone!” Gwaine cried out and Merlin tried to get to his friend, but as soon as the bearded man had moved, so had dozens of other patrons, separating the two friends from one another. “Merlin!” Gwaine cried out, attempting to burst through the human barrier that had formed. But it was no use and suddenly Merlin had no control of his feet as he was picked up, hoisted over shoulders and dragged out of the pub.

“Let me down! I didn’t do anything!” Merlin shouted, attempting to roll off of the supporting hands that held him above the ground, but their grips were too strong. Gwaine’s voice was faint, but still protesting the charges they were holding against Merlin. The sorcerer couldn’t see his friend, but caught sight where they were taking him and his stomach rolled at the destination.

Looming ahead of them was the courtyard where Uther used to burn found magic users. The pyre had been dismantled shortly after Merlin had arrived in Camelot, but renegade citizens had rebuilt it after word had gotten out that Uther’s death had been caused by magic.

“No, no! You can’t do this!” Merlin tried to squirm even more, but the hands around him only tightened more. It was only when they approached the pyre that the hands barely released Merlin, tilting him straight onto the pile of wood and sticks that were surely to be lit. Those same hands held him still as others strapped ropes around his thin body, pulling him tight to the middle log that was to hold him while he burned in front of all of Camelot.

Around the courtyard, windows grew bright as the castle citizens lit candles and lanterns in order to see what was going on in the dimly lit courtyard. The group of people who had dragged Merlin there were shouting and cheering as he was tied down.

“You are a sorcerer! And sorcerers burn!” It wasn’t the woman who had initially pointed him out to the crowd that spoke, but the mountain of flesh that had tried to take a swing at him in the first place. The man stumbled forward and pointed a shaky finger at Merlin. Supposed witnesses cheered in response.

They always did love a good execution.

Merlin cringed as a torch was snatched off of a nearby sconce and passed through the growing crowd. He could easily get out, but it would mean using more magic. Would that be worth it in order to escape? Where would he go? The torch grew closer until finally someone was moving to touch it to the wood beneath his feet. He squeezed his eyes shut, preparing to mutter a spell that would hopefully get him out of the whole situation and somewhere safe.

“What is the meaning of this?!” A familiar voice boomed through the courtyard and Merlin couldn’t help but let a sigh of relief escape his chest. His eyes flashed open to find the speaker as the fire was snatched away from the kindling. And much to Merlin’s glee, Arthur was storming through the courtyard. It wasn’t often that Merlin was happy to hear the roaring tone of voice that Arthur saved for commands and yelling at Merlin. But tonight?

Oh boy, yes he was.

“Your liege! We have found a sorcerer! He used magic in the pub! I saw him!” Mountain Man lurched forward, attempting a bow and ended up on his knees. He looked up at the approaching Arthur, obviously expecting some sort of reward for catching a magic user.

Arthur scowled, glancing up at who was on the pyre, and blinking at the sight of his servant strapped to the large log there. “Merlin?” Arthur looked from his servant to the man in front of him, back to Merlin and finally landing on the man before letting out a bark of laughter that silenced the crowd.

“Sire?” The man questioned nervously.

“This man is not a sorcerer! He’s barely a servant. I’d hope, if he could use magic, that he would use it to better perform his chores around the castle!” Arthur replied, chuckling spattered throughout his words. Immediately, Merlin scowled. But he didn’t verbally respond, as that probably would have been a poor decision. “Get him down from there. Now!” Arthur commanded. The same hands that had tied Merlin up were now releasing him and gently bringing him down off of the pile of wood. “The rest of you, go home! I believe you’ve all had enough ale for this evening!”

Merlin was dropped at Arthur’s side as the crowd, all mumbling their disappointment in lack of evening entertainment, began filtering out of the courtyard. A quick look and Merlin noticed that Gwaine was nowhere in sight now that the immediate danger was gone.

Merlin turned and a hesitant smile grew on his face. “Thank you, sire… I don’t know what to say…”

“No worries, Merlin,” Arthur clapped a hand on Merlin’s shoulder and nearly made his knees buckle. A confident smile graced Arthur’s features and a glint in his eyes made Merlin nervous. “Trust me, you won’t be getting off lightly.”

***

“I don’t see how you can find this funny, Gwaine!” Merlin snapped, attempting to shift his feet so the wood wouldn’t dig so much into the back of his neck. His back ached and he knew there were splinters in his wrists. His dark eyes flashed at the chuckling knight who was standing barely two feet away from the platform that Merlin was positioned on. “This is your fault! You should be up here with me!”

“I’m sorry, Merlin. I just… I can’t stand the stocks!” That forced Gwaine into a full grin and a fit of laughter. The knight slung his arms around two women that had surely followed him home from the pub after the crowds had left the courtyard.

“You can’t really be leaving me here!” Merlin replied, looking at the obviously smitten women who stared lovingly at Gwaine. Gwaine glanced first at both women and then at Merlin before giving a shrug.

“Sorry, mate. Can’t risk getting in trouble with Arthur. I’ll be back in a few hours, okay?” He spun his entourage around and gave Merlin a final wave before sauntering off with them into Camelot’s shopping district, leaving Merlin to deal with the giggling children who were fond of throwing rotten vegetables and fruit at anyone stuck in the stocks.

“Gwaine!” Merlin shouted, his voice echoing but not catching the ear of his supposed friend. He groaned, and the sound only got louder as a small child caught Merlin in the ear with a bit of mushy tomato.

Now. Now was a good reason to turn Gwaine into a toad.


End file.
